The sprawling Wu-Empire has weathered a myriad of setbacks in the past few years. The loss of Ol’ Dirty Bastard in 2004 and a series of petty internal squabbles that led to delayed album release dates and cancelled concerts led many fans to fear that the much touted 8 Diagrams, might turn out to be an ill-conceived mess, a Wu Tang album in name only. For sure 8 Diagrams is a radical departure for the Wu-Tang — the woozy psychedelic soundscapes that Rza has crafted here sound nothing like the menacing, slash and burn minimalism that characterized his early work, and even less like the throwback sounds that clan members Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, and Masta Killah have been favoring on their recent solo efforts. Tracks like the aptly titled “Unpredictable”, the dread-filled “Windmill” and the spooky “Campfire” sport eccentric drum programming, paranoid strings, and heavily phased soul-hooks that seem to leave even the Wu’s veteran MC’s sounding tentative and unsure of themselves. Thankfully, Rza’s bold new approach pays off in spades. In the face of overwhelming popular skepticism he has managed to craft a compelling new aesthetic that will, with time, prove more than worthy of being ranked amongst his very best work.